Improvement in machines for punching paper fillets for transmitting telegraphic signals



UNITED STATES PATENT: OFFICE.

J. P. HUMASTON, OF NEVT HAVEN, CONNEGTICUT v IMPROVEMENT IN MA'CHINES FOR PUNCHING PAPER FlLLETS FOR TRANSMITTING TELEGRAPHIC SIGN'ALS;

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 18,1119, dated September 8, 18,57.

To all nmm it ma concern:

Bc` it known that I, JOHN PIERRPONT HU- MAslo'N, ot' vNew Haven, county ot' New Haven and State of Connecticut, haveinvented cerw tain new and useful Improvements in Telegraphingand I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being made to the annexed drawings, making a part ot' this speciiication,'in which the figures are fully re terrcd to and dcsmibcdY hereinthat is to say- This inventionis'for certain 'improvements in electric telegraphs ol' the recording kind; and it consists in' a machine termed a telegraphiccompositor, ihe use-oi' which is to pre pare beforehand, upon slips et' paper or other suitable material, the matter it is desired to transmit, and this paper is to be passed through the telegraphic transmitting-machine, wherein it eilects the breaking and the closing of the circuits in accordance with the characters or signals to be conveyed, and is in lieu olthe hand of the operator in the old inode. The chier" object sought to be accomplished is to increase the quantity of matter which may be sent overa line, and which quantity it is manifest is only limited hy the velocity of the electric current and the capability of the machine by which the circuits are closed and broken. "iiWhen an operator, by his tin ger, breaks and closes the circuit for the transmission oi a message, the limit is his ability to write the message. n

The principle l adopt has already been proposed, and consists in punching holes in a strip ot paper in the order and shape necessary to form the required characters on the recordingmachine at the opposite end of the line of wires; and my improvement ism constructi ing a machine for rapidly composing anyr message to be transmitted on this plan. This composition may consist ot' perforations, as above mentioned, or by printing or attixing upon the fillet of paper some substance'which will operate to break and close the electric conductors in an equivalent manner. I prefer, howeveryto make the characters by perforatons in the paper. These perforations are made by a set ot' cuttingpunches, so arranged in the machine that by indicating the letter or character to be made upon a fingerkey, a hole or set ot' holes and spaces, of the proper shape for that purposefcanbe punched simultaneously through the llet of paper' .represen ts a front view, Fig. 2 a side view, and

Fig. 3 a plan, of this machine. Fig. 4 represents a section ot' the punches through the line w ot' Fig. 5, and Fig. 5 a longitudinal view of the same. Fig. 6 is a perspective .View of one of the pmiches'detached,those heilig indicated by the letters c. These punches are dat pieces of metal of the shape shown, and cut out on the under sides-so as to leave two ends, a and a. The llet of paper passes in the space b between .the two ends. f

Thevalphabet I shall describe as being made by my machine consists of dots and dashes, and a movement ot' a single punch from c in the direction ot' a will make a dot; and two or more punches moving side by side will make a slot or dash ot greater or less length.

The number et punches is such that they can be moved so as to form the various combinations of dots and dashes i'or the alphabet and the nine numerals.

The punching ot" each letter or number is performed by two'operations. The iirst is et`- fected by the touch of a key marked with the letter or sign to be made, and which brings into position as many and such oi.' the punches as arc required to be moved, in order to perforatc the paper for that sign; the second moves the punches and feeds the paper along to be in readiness for the next letter, &c. This is accomplished by means of a series of links, connected with the punches, a certain number of which are brought into play Whenever a key is touched. These links lie horizontally on the top' ot'` the machine, and is shown at c in Fig. 3. The punches lie under the box-A', Figs. 1,

2, 3, and their ends are attached bya hook to alikehook. (Shownatc,Figs.5and7.) Each link has a spring, a, Fig. "i, under it, which tends to force it upward, and is intended to raise the end which is free. Near that end a notch, s', is cutin each link c, so that thenotches' 0f all shall be` in a line, into which line of notches the end of a broad, flat lever ts. (Shown bythe dotted lines d, Fig. 2.) If that leverw'ere moved forward all the punches `would also be driven' along, and the result would be the cutting of a long slot iu the pa.

to the depth of the notches s', then anotherl movement of the lever d would move every alternate punch, the 'result being the cutting of a series of dots, and in this way the movements can be variously combined as may be desired. To eiiect this two things are requisite. The first is to bring into play some mechanism which shall indicate which and how many of the links c arc to be actuated bythe lever. The second is the proper feeding of the paper, because this latter requires to be very irregular,

a single dot being required for only one of all the letters, while dashes and dots may be necessary to form thenext one, and'thus more or less space is required for each letter.

Each signfor the letters of the `alplziahet and the numerals is formed upon theface of a broad wheel, B, a diagram of which is seen in Fig. 8, and the same as if woundV arou'nd the wheel B, Figs. l and 3. These signs are projections above the general face, and the latter wheel lies directly over the row of links c, as seen inl Fig. 3, and vis capable of revolving on an axis.

New, it is so arranged, that the letter wheel will permit only such links -to come into play as will accord with the letter which happens to stand ,direct-ly over them, since there are projections P, Fig. 7, on the links., which strike A against any projections that may be opposed on the'letter wheel.

Where `these interfere, such links are kept down, while theothers may rise up by the force of their springs and get clear of the lever dFig. 2, thus escaping action, while the others will propel the punches necessary for cutting out the proper character.

The links have also formed in them notches c, Fig. 7, on 'their upper edges, which, when they rise to get clear of the lever d, clasp the upper part of they'oke C, Figs.. 2 and 3, which spans them and are prevented by it nfrom be' ing pushed forward by friction or otherwise.'

The' cutting-faces of the punches which are thus held at rest, form, as it were, dies for themoving-punches to cut against inpassing bey tween, While slotted plates b', sho-wn in Figs. 4t and 5, forni diesacross which the upper Iand.

lower edges of the moving-punches passA in punching out the pape'r. v, j f

To bring the proper letter round on the let# ter-Wheel B At D, Figs. 1, 2, and 3,'is a standard or plate, which forms one of the bearings for the axis of B. In acircle through this a series ofV holesis made, as at d, Fig. 2, this series comprising as Inany holes as there are characters on the letter-wheel.

spring, d, on each tending constantly to force them through the standard D. Each pin'has a cord, c, attached and leading to a key-lever of the finger-board, as at f, Figs. 1 and 2, E, Figs. l ad 2, being keys of the said board. A spring at the end of each keyovercomes Through each Y hole there isa pinysupported in a horizcmtal.v direction, as at d", Figs. l and 3, a small spiral to the zero or blank spaceon the letter-wheel,

this ibeing so arranged as always to project Wh enthe others are withdrawn, and vice versa. On pressing down the end of akey the opposite end is raised, and slackening a cord, c", allows'tlie pin to which it leads to project beyoud the face of the standard D. Upon the axis o t' the wheel B a force tending to turn it round is produced, by the'aetion of the spring g connected to the lever g', which is, raised by the crank-arm y upon the shaft g'", Fig. 2.

To the lever y is attached one end of a piece of oord, 7L, which passes round thc axis of the 'its otherend to a slight spring, hm', which will yield whenl the wheel is moved, as before described, and allow` the cord h" to slip upon the axis as it turns. Thus by means of an arm, t', on the axis placed, so as tobe in`range of the points oi' the pins d","when the point of one of the latter projects, the further revolution of the wheel B will `,be arrested. Whereverthe arm i is stopped, say, by a pin leading to key E, that letter will bei'fthe one on the wheel standing over the links. It is evident, therefore, that whatever fkey is touched, a letter or character will be brought into position to'be punched by the subsequent operation of the machine.

The'feed-ing of thepaper is the next to be described; v The paper, as before mentioned, ymust be moved, after the punching of each letter, to a sufficient distance to'brin'g a fresh blank space before the punches, and also to give the required space for ldistinguishing one, letter from another, as well as thespaces between words and sentences. 4 Thefeed is performed by 'two rollers, 11 i", of which i' is on a xed axis, j', and the other is set up against it -by a spring. The roller z" can play loosely on its shaft, and-maybe made to move round with-the shaft only in one direction by means f apawl, 7J, and ratchet wheel, 13'.

A small chain or ccrd,j, passes round the Shaftj', terminating in a spring, 7'f, on the op.i posite side. The cord or chain j is attached to a longI lever, j", and as this lever vibrates backward and' forward itturns the shaft but.

talee shaft thedruin will be held firm by another pawl set on the frame, or simply by thev friction of the roller on which the spring acts,

while the first slips over the ratchet-teeth to length of feed being according to the extent of vibration in the leyerj. To govern this there is on the shaft B a graduated wheel or plate, B, revolving with it, as represented in. the Figs. 1, 2, and 3. The edges, it will be perceived, are notched out to irregular depths, and there are as many notches as there are sets of characters, and the notches are adjusted with reference to the position of those on the letter-wheel. These notches forni a series of stops for-the end of the lever j", so that when it strikes against theone that projects the farthest out tli'e inotion will -be shorter, and the feed ot' paper consequently least, and so on to the deepest notch required for the longest letter or character. The end of the paper tillet being pushed through the plates b into b, Figs. 3 and 5, a letter is formed as follows: Press down the key representing the required letter or mimber, as A, the ,proper pin, will be pushed out, the shaft `B willily round,vby the torce of the spring g, until arrested by its arm i striking thepin aforesaid. The proper character on the letter-wheel will now be in position to operate on the proper links c, which are to be kept in place. At this moment a clamp, k', 'Figs 2 and 3, is raised by the action ot' the spring m under it, being made to turn when required by another cam, mi', Fig. l, on the shaftgl, which draws down the clamp against the force of that sprin fr. This clamp is used to keep down all the tails of the links, but when raised all the links would be forced upward by the springs under them if the projections upon the letter-wheel B did not keep those down which are required to operate the proper punches. The others will rise and their notches s get clear of thecnd of the lever d. By a pressure of the foot upon a treadle, k, or k", a cam, l, Figs. land 2,-is turned, which, first of all, permits the leverjl to dy toward the index-plate B", and gives the required amount of feed to the paper. A cam, l', then strikes the tail of the other lever, d, and drives forward all those punches which are kept in gear with the notches s'. The footis then raised and the'two levers are restored to their former points. Y y Itmust be understood that the key A was keptpressed down during the whole process, and until thckey for the succeedingoue is opera-ted, when the process continues as. before. The punches, to perform the work well,sliould have a peculiar construction at the cutting edges, for it will be understood from thc foriy going description that when one or .more punches move, the adjoining punches on cach side; which remain stationary, prrl'orni a part, for they then act as the other lia-ll' ot' a shears, tlic moving punches being tliclirst half. The correct working of this part is very important, as upon the making of the pcrliiratioiis with well-dctined lines and a perfect detaching of tliccuttings depends the accuracy ot' thc work ings. l shall therefore. give a separate descrip tion of their construction.

The liest material is of sonic stoel that will temper. The shape ct' each separate one is that of' a thin plate.as seen :it a, Figs. 4,5, and iii the perspective view, Fig. (i. 'llicre are two euttiiig-siirtaces formed by the two ends, a and a", which vedges are peculiarthat is to say, these ends, instead ot' being square, have a V-shaped. cavity cut,thus forming an end with two sharp edges, asA seeiiiii Fig. (i. 4Furthermore it will be seen that these edges do not stand in the same position, the two edges of u. being formed by the top and bottom ot the punch eiid, while` in a. the cutting-edges are parallelto the sides ot' the plates. 'lhese cutting ends are arranged iii a long slot cut in two plates, b b", Figs. 3, 4, 5, between which the fillet of paper passes; and the width of thc platos apart is the distance of the inner edges of the punches, so that when those punches aie at rest the surfaces are all lliish,

as shown. 'lhc cutting-edge ofa punch, r hich when moving is that ot' ai', advances iii the direction ol the arrow, Fig-L5. The top and bottom ot' the hole is therefore cnt by the top and bottomedges of ai', shearing' against tlic slot iii the plate b, while one edge, a, of a punch on each side in connection with the V sides ot' a torintlicshears for the other sides ofthe hole, and accordingly a square hole is clearly cut out. llftwo or more adjoining punches move together the cutting-surface ot a is leiigtliened by the addition proportion ately; and for the extreme outside ones the ends ofthe slot in plate b" forni thc other half of the shears. i y

rlhc iillet of paper thus prepared may bc used for transmitting the message by means of a machine such as is shown inFigs. 9 and l0, ot which Fig. 9 is a side elevation, and Fig. 10 atop view.

At ci is a staiidard'having a small drinn, a', fitted at the top to rotate. Tliese'must be of metal or some conducting` material for electricity. Immediately over this is a small roller, b, fixed to :n arm, b', which is hinged to a post, as shown. rlhis roller is made to press downv upon the drum by a spring, as shown. The fillet p of perforated paper passes along over the drum, and is so guided that the roller b will travel in the track of the perforation, as seen iii Fig. 10. The positive and negative wires are attached to these, 011e being seen at d and the other at e. The paper is to be drawn between the drum and roller with as much.l

speed as may be found practicable torecord ing materials, by the movement of the ends,-

rnade et' a suitable shape up to the paper, such as tinsfoilv; or if the illet be made of aconducting substance, then the ends of the punches may apply toit a non-conducting material as f a Varnish, ink, or anything by which the breaking or closing of a circuit may be accomplished by characters impressed or affixed upon a travelingmedi'um, such substantially. as hask been described; or the paper may be se fed as to pass under the letterwvheel, and that being formed like type, can be so operated as to give an impression directly to said paper.

I claim#- 4 '1 The mannerof operating the punches for perforating the charactersin the paper, ccnsisting of the revolving type-Wheel or other equivalent means of indicating characters, in combination with the punches, as described.

2. The method of regulating the feed of paper, consisting of the graduated stopwheel or equivalent series of stops, in combination with the type-Wheel and with the means for propelling the paper fillet past the punches, as described. Y

3. The manner of forming the cutting-ends of the punchesthat is to say, having its advancing end formed into two cutting-edges by means of the V-shaped recess, in combination with a second pair of cutting-edges-opposite to them, formed in like manner and upon the same plate, but in position at a right angle to the first pair, thus making the other half of the shear' in conjunction with an adjoining punch, substantially in the manner set forth J. P. HUMASTON. 

